Proposed Collection of Information: Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck Fleet Survey

Christopher J. Bonanti
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
December 19, 2012

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75257-75258]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30520]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0170]


Proposed Collection of Information: Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck 
Fleet Survey

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Request for public comment on proposed collection of 
information.

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SUMMARY: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), on 
behalf of the Department of Transportation (DOT), invites public 
comment on our intent to request Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval to conduct an information collection. This collection of 
information will be in the form of a one-time survey of medium- and 
heavy-duty truck fleet managers.

DATES: Comments must be received within 60 days of publication of this 
notice.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments [identified by Docket No. NHTSA-
2012-0170] through one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 1 (202) 493-2251.
     Mail or Hand Delivery: Docket Management Facility, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., West 
Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Each submission must include the Agency name and the 
Docket number for this Notice. Note that all comments received will be 
posted without changes to http://www.regulations.gov including any 
personal information provided.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James D. MacIsaac Jr., Fuel Economy 
Division, Office of International Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer 
Programs, NVS-132, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590. Phone: (202) 366-9108.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
before an agency submits a proposed collection of information to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval, it must publish a 
document in the Federal Register providing a 60-day

[[Page 75258]]

comment period and otherwise consult with members of the public and 
affected agencies. OMB has promulgated regulations describing what must 
be included in such a document. Under OMB's regulations (at 5 CFR 
1320.8(d)), an agency must ask for public comment on the following:
    (i) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including 
whether the information will have practical utility;
    (ii) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    (iii) How to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (iv) How to minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including the use of appropriate automated, 
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or 
other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic 
submissions of responses.
    In compliance with these requirements, NHTSA seeks public comment 
on the following proposed collection of information:
    Type of Information Collection: New collection.
    OMB Control Number: To be issued at time of approval.
    Title: Medium- and Heavy-Duty Truck Fleet Survey.
    Background: The Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), 
enacted on December 19, 2007, mandated that NHTSA set maximum feasible 
fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty (MD/HD) on-highway 
vehicles and work trucks for each model year (MY), with four full model 
years of lead time. (49 U.S.C. 32902(k)(2)). On September 15, 2011, 
NHTSA issued the first fuel efficiency standards for these vehicles, 
consisting of voluntary standards for MYs 2014-2015 and mandatory 
standards for MYs 2016-2018 and beyond.
    Description of the Need for the Information and Proposed Use of the 
Information: As the agency develops the next phase of MD/HD standards, 
it will require a current model year baseline of the Class 2b-8 vehicle 
fleet, including model configurations, levels of fuel consumption and 
emissions equipment, current performance, vocations, typical mileage 
and cargo levels, fuels, and certification choices. This information is 
critical to efforts to model the fleet and conduct research in support 
of the next phase of standards. Data with this level of detail, 
especially the combined vehicle build and usage statistics, are not 
available from commercial database services. Therefore, it is necessary 
to survey truck fleet managers to not only baseline the vehicle 
configurations within the fleet, but also to baseline each vehicle 
category and subcategory's relative fuel consumption performance.
    The results of the survey will serve to inform the public on 
current model year trucking fleet characteristics, fuel efficiency and 
emissions technologies, and usage. The survey is part of a larger 
coordinated research program aimed at informing both the next phase of 
the fuel efficiency standards, and an upcoming National Academy of 
Sciences (NAS) study on MD/HD vehicle fuel economy and emissions (per 
Section 107 of EISA, the NAS MD/HD study is funded by the Department of 
Transportation and the Academy updates the report at 5 year intervals 
through 2025).
    Description of the Survey: A firm under contract to conduct the 
proposed survey will identify that it is a USDOT-NHTSA-funded survey 
and that participation is voluntary. Respondents will be informed that 
any information they provide will be used only for research and will 
not be used for sales calls or other commercial purposes. The final 
report generated from this survey will consist of aggregated results 
and will not attribute responses to individuals nor divulge any 
identifying information of the respondents.
    The proposed survey will consist of an initial introduction and 
screening interview by phone, with qualified respondents referred to a 
web link to complete the main survey online. The proposed online survey 
will tailor itself to the fleet size and weight class information of 
each respondent to minimized extraneous questions and length. The 
proposed survey questions can be found in the docket for this 
collection, at NHTSA-2012-0170.
    Respondents: Fleet managers from the trucking industry.
    Estimated Number of Screening Interview Respondents: 2000.
    Estimated Number of Survey Respondents: 175.
    Estimated Number of Fully Completed Survey Responses: 100.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 235 hours. NHTSA estimates that 2000 
respondents will spend an average of 5 minutes each on the screening 
interview. Of these 2000 respondents, the agency estimates 175 will be 
both qualified and willing to complete the online survey. Within the 
175 willing respondents, the agency estimates 75 will suspend 
participation in the survey in the first 15 minutes, and the remaining 
100 will spend 30 minutes to fully complete the online survey.
    Estimated Frequency: One-time survey.
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the Department's 
performance, (b) the accuracy of the estimated burden, (c) ways for the 
Department to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the 
information collection and (d) ways that the burden could be minimized 
without reducing the quality of the collected information. The agency 
will summarize and/or include your comments in the request for OMB's 
clearance of this information collection.

    Authority: 44 U.S.C. Section 3506(c)(2)(A).

    Issued: December 7, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-30520 Filed 12-18-12; 8:45 am]
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